“Sir, we are ready!”
“Okay, men we will have detailed briefings and chalkboard simulations starting in the morning at 0800. Update your officers and NCOs this afternoon and be ready for tomorrow.”
The team started to leave the room when George asked Gus, Bob and Scott to stay behind for a meeting.
George looked at Scott and said, “Scott, we want you to stay at headquarters and direct your men from the bunker.”
“Sir, with all due respect, I need to lead my men into battle as I always have. They expect it and it is the right thing to do.”
“Son, we have lost your Dad to those bastards and we can’t lose you. It would kill morale and devastate our people. Besides you are now being made a permanent member of the Secretary’s staff and can’t be out breaking down doors and fighting hand to hand.”
“Sir, I will do what I am ordered to do, but I don’t like it.”
Gus replied, “You are your father’s son. You hard headed son of a bitch.”
“But you still love me, don’t you Gus?”
“Yes, and get your ass moving on these plans.”
Scott saluted and replied as he walked out of the room, “Yes Sir!”
George looked at Gus and Bob and said, “That boy will be President of the ISA one day and we’d better get him ready without getting him killed.”
Bob added, “And also not pissing him off too much.”
They all laughed and pulled out a bottle of Kentucky bourbon and drank a toast to President Scott Harris.
***
The Command Center was busy as usual when Scott went back to his office, still pissed about not leading his troops into battle. Hell, he knew that Teller could lead his men as well as or even better than he could. Scott suddenly got a big smile on his face, called Joan’s CO and asked if he could send her to lunch early. He had just hatched a devious plan that his Dad and Gus would be proud of.
“Joan, I’m so glad that Jerry could let you join me for lunch. I want to bounce something off you before I approach Gus. I want to lead a search party into the Wyoming and Colorado area to look for Dad and to establish several outposts. We would take ground transportation and several helicopters for protection and air surveillance. I would be gone for up to three months. Darling, I have to find Dad.”
“I’m in. When do we leave?”
“Now Joan, I want you to stay back here. I don’t want to expose you to the unknown dangers.”
“I am a Ranger; you are my husband not my protector. I have an M4, 9 mm and a Kbar for protection. Like I said, when do we go and no more of that nonsense? Remember if Mama ain’t happy, your ass won’t be happy. Any questions before we pack up to go?”
“No ma'am, I just have to convince Gus.”
“Hey, who do we want from our old team? I’m asking Maria and Sam.”
“Great idea; I hadn’t gotten that far, but I suppose I’ll get Jim, Tony Jackson and Sonny.
***
“But damn it Gus, you know Teller can lead the troops as well or better than I can.”
“Son, I didn’t say no. Hell, I want to go myself. I already planned exactly the same operation. I think I’m just jealous that you get to find your Dad instead of me.”
Scott jumped out of his chair as he replied, “Does that mean yes?”
“Only if we modify your plan by adding another 50 of the 82nd Airborne and about five more Humvees with twin 50s. The twin SAWs are great, but you might have to knock down some doors. Look son, I don’t want to have two Harris boys lost in the big woods.”
“I’ll get with Colonel Mills and add the men.”
“Call him General. He gets promoted tomorrow.”
“Great! He is a great leader and even better man.”
“Scott, I’ll have a staff meeting to establish your goals and to ask for military and civilian volunteers that might want to settle down up there so we can have some permanent posts. That will make it easier to spread the word to the current survivors and to have a strong permanent presence.”
“I agree; I’ll make plans to leave in a week. Hopefully the snow will be gone by then.”
“Don’t count on it. This winter was the worst on record.”
***
Gus called Admiral Jones and said, “I’m sending a team up into the Colorado area to search for John. I know that it’s a long shot, but I can’t give up on him. We will kill a bunch of bad guys along the way and get the area ready to annex it into the ISA.”
“I agree with the search for John, but don’t make any plans to deploy an army to protect the area. We just don’t have the manpower. Train the locals to protect themselves and move on.”
“I planned that all along. Bob asked me to have Scott check out several military bases and ammo dumps along the way and we will occupy them if needed until we can move the supplies to a safe area.”
“Thanks, you are a couple steps ahead of me as usual.”
“Thank your son. Bob keeps me on my toes and always has my back.”
Thanks for the compliment. Is he ready for a larger assignment? Being his father, I need an unbiased opinion.”
“Bob needs to be over all of your ground forces for a large region and eventually all ground forces.”
“Thanks, I agree.”
“Gus, one more bit of bad news. We just received intel from our satellites that indicate that Israel had several nuclear explosions this morning. We have lost contact with their military and our contacts in Israeli intelligence are tight lipped about what happened. They did confirm that the entire country is radioactive and all major cities were destroyed.”
“Damn, they were our eyes and ears in the Mid-East and one of our few allies. Please send our prayers and tell them that we will assist them in any way possible.”
“I already have and I got a curious reply. The senior officer said that we had already helped them more than they could ask for.”
“They don’t need more help?”
“That’s what he said.”
“Well, keep me informed and set up a meeting with your military contact. Don’t they still have a large group in training at our facility in New Mexico? I think they secretly moved some of the leadership’s families there after the shit hit the fan. I want to meet with them and retaliate ASAP.”
“Sorry, I failed to mention that several more nukes exploded in Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. I think Israel has retaliated. I will seek out my contact in their military and see what we can do to help them. The whole Middle East is radioactive and they must have thousands of survivors that need medical assistance.”
***
“Jim, I have received permission from Gus to take a large group north to search for my Dad and his team.”
Jim cut Scott short and replied, “Hell yes, I want to go with you. I know that Imelda is alive and we haven’t done jack shit to find them. I’ll be ready in 30 minutes to go.”
“Yes, you are going with us to find them, but it’s a week out so we can put a team together. Lt. Pope will lead the Rangers and you will report to him. I will ask him to assign you to help me start a group to train civilians how to protect themselves and prepare them to join the ISA. This is a voluntary mission so get you about 10 volunteers to assist you.”
“Thanks for the confidence. I won’t let you down.”
Scott handed Jim a set of 2nd Lieutenant bars and said, “Here, these were mine. Wear them proudly; you’ve earned them.”
Maria, Sonny, Sam and Tony gladly volunteered to join the search party and there were over 30 families and another 50 volunteers from the Mobile area that wanted to move into the new addition to the country. In addition, a group with 20 families from Port Arthur that wanted to move back further north.
Jim recruited three Rangers, a doctor, two nurses, several mechanics and a couple of engineers to join his new team. They would meet Scott’s convoy in Dallas. General Mills' men would meet up with them in Albuquerque. They would then travel up Highway 25
to Colorado Springs and Denver. The plan was to base their search operations out of Denver.
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Chapter 4
The People of Cody
Cody, Wyoming
2022
“Joe, I want you and Imelda to go to the edge of town and ask to meet with the leader of the town. Fill them in on the ISA and that we’d like them to join us. I’ll stay undercover and keep my M4 ready to cover your retreat if the shit hits the fan. Any questions?”
“Do we tell them about the crash and who you are?”
“No on my identity, but yes on the crash. I don’t think that they need to know that the President of the ISA is lost at this time. Make up a story about the crash where we were coming up here to help them fight off the gangs and ask them to join the ISA. Leave the rest for me after we know who we are dealing with.”
“Sounds like a plan. Now how do we introduce ourselves without starting a panic?”
“What about a white flag tied to the barrel of your M4? Joe, shoulder your rifle and Imelda will wave the flag for attention. Walk to the edge of the city and wave a guard down. Tell him that you want to meet with him, but don’t go into the city until you wave for me to join you.”
“Should work. Imelda, find a handkerchief or some type of white cloth."
Imelda cut a piece of parachute the right size for a flag and they gave John a half hour to set up his position before heading to the edge of town. They walked down the middle of the south end runway towards the motel that served as headquarters for the guards. There was an immediate commotion at the building and several guards came out and took up positions behind parked cars with guns pointed at them. They slowly walked up to within a short distance from the closest guard and told them what they wanted. He left and went into the building. A few minutes later, several more guards moved in around them on both sides. Then a man and two guards walked up to within ten feet of them.
“What do you want and why are you coming into our city armed to the teeth?”
Joe responded, “We are soldiers with ISA and are on a mission up here to help you fight off the gangs and to see if you want to join us. Have you heard of the ISA?”
“Yes, we’ve heard of the ISA, but I thought that you were only operating in the southeast.”
“We stretch from Georgia to Arizona and Kentucky in the north. We also provide naval and air support for the PSA. We plan to push north in stages over the next two years. The PSA claims all of the West Coast and the USA claims everything north of Kentucky. They have tried to invade this area from the Oregon coast, but we sank the UN ships carrying their troops. You would have had Cuban and African troops taking charge of your land.”
“So, why didn’t you land at our airport? Where are your leaders?”
“Our leaders are in Mobile busy keeping the USA, Iranians and drug cartels from destroying our country. The truth is that our plane crashed about 20 miles north of here and we have been tending to our wounds and killing a bunch of bad guys in the cities east of here. Do you want the help and do you want to join up? We have food, ammo and most of our major cities have running water and lights. The Navy has been a big help in getting Mobile, Port Arthur, Pensacola and half of Dallas back into operation.”
“I’ll have to meet with our town council, but I’m sure we need your help wiping out the local drug lords and gangs. Only the council can decide if we join your country.”
“Sounds fair enough. I’m going to wave for my other team member to join us.”
“I guessed that you had someone with a rifle trained on us. I would have done the same thing myself.”
Imelda waved at John’s position. There was no response for a minute and then she saw John walk from behind a building and walk towards them.
John introduced himself as Captain Harris and shook everyone’s hand.
The police chief said that he would tell the mayor and council about them and set up a meeting for the next morning. He invited them to stay in town at one of the hotels, but John preferred to stay at the hanger for the night. They all shook hands, then John and his team headed back to the airport.
***
The mayor and five council members listened to the police chief relate what Joe and Imelda had passed on about the offer to join the ISA. The discussion was rather heated.
“Greg, how do we even know that they are with the ISA? They could be thugs posing as ISA soldiers.”
“Joel, we have to take them at face value for now and be prepared for a fight if they are thugs probing us for weakness.”
“Did they mention if they had any hospitals and medical supplies,” asked Doc Stone.
“Yes, they have several hospitals in operation and have warehouses full of supplies. It appears that they control most of the government warehouses.”
The mayor spoke up, “We need to listen to them and keep an open mind. We are quickly digressing to the mid 1800’s in technology and hunting and trapping won’t feed the thousand or so people left in the area. However, I do agree that we stay vigilant and prepare for a surprise attack.”
***
The young girl had listened to the meeting at the edge of town and eves dropped on the police chief’s meeting with the mayor and town council. She knew that she had to get these soldiers to help her and her people.
***
John took first watch just as the sun was setting. He took a walk around the hanger and saw nothing that worried him. He stepped behind a stack of pallets to relieve himself and just as he zipped his pants up, he felt something stick him in the back. He turned and saw a young girl with a big gun in her hand.
“Hands up mister or you die. Slowly hand me your rifle and pistol.”
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Chapter 5
Jim Jones
Wyoming
2022
The girl had used zip ties to secure John’s hands behind his back and then marched him to the north end of the airport. She commanded him to get into an ATV and she placed the seatbelt around him as he tried to make his hands comfortable without much success.
“Where are you taking me?”
“Shut up and don’t try anything or I’ll shoot you in your leg below the knee. We need you alive, but you don’t have to be able to walk.”
She started the ATV and took off through the snow on Highway 20 at a high rate of speed for such deep snow.
John yelled over the whine of the engine, “Aren’t you going too fast for this road?”
The words were barely out of his mouth when the vehicle lurched off the road, shot through the air and started cross-country. The girl was a speed demon and he just hoped that she wouldn’t get them both killed. He looked over at her and she had a big grin on her face as she yelled, “Hold on, it gets a bit bumpy for the rest of the trip.”
“Where are we going and who are you?”
“You’ll find out when we get there. We have about an hour more to travel since I can’t take the main road.”
“My hands are going numb. Can you tie them up in front of me?”
She brought the ATV to a stop and said, “I’ll redo your hands in a minute. Don’t try anything.”
She walked around to his side and thumbed the hammer back on the Ruger Blackhawk and put it against his temple. She pulled a hunting knife out and told John to lean over in the seat. He felt her cut the plastic tie and slowly moved his hands in front of him. She gave him a pair of gloves and made him put them on and then zip tied one hand to a grab rail and another to his belt.
As she crossed in front of the headlights he finally got a good look at her and saw that she was a blonde, blue eyed girl about 20-25 years old and was dressed in men’s clothes with a hunting knife and a hog leg strapped to her hip. She was clean and the vehicle was neat and orderly. She was not with some trashy biker gang.
“That should be more comfortable. Let’s go.”
Before John could speak, she fired
the buggy up and took off like a Baja racer. The girl obviously knew what she was doing and handled the ATV as though she had been racing it for years. They drove east for another hour or so when the vehicle lurched into the air and flipped over on its side.
***
Imelda woke and instantly felt that something was wrong. She crawled over to Joe and gently woke him.
"Joe, the sun is up and John didn’t wake me for guard duty.”
“Me neither.”
“Let’s find John and see what’s going on.
They walked around the hanger following his tracks until Imelda said, “Look there is another set of tracks following him. They are smaller and maybe a woman or child’s footprints.”
They followed the trail until it went behind the stack of pallets and found the prints joined together behind the pallets.
Joe looked down, picked something up and said, “It looks like someone slipped up behind John and kidnapped him. He dropped his flashlight.”
“Joe, there’s a large zip tie on the ground. The person must have dropped it when they tied John’s hands.”
“We need to see if we can find their tracks and rescue John.”
They followed John’s tracks until they ended at the north end of the airport. They saw the ATV tracks and followed them until they headed out east on Highway 14.
“Damn, we need to cancel the meeting with the mayor and find John.”
They walked into town and asked a guard to find the police chief. It only took the guards a few minutes to bring him to them.
Apocalypse in the Homeland: The Adventures of John Harris Page 3